A young man who did a runner without paying for €43 of petrol and then caused €3,500 damage to a Garda patrol car has escaped jail after receiving a good probation report.
Thomas McBride, aged 18, appeared before Letterkenny District Court on a series of charges.
The court heard McBride was 18 years old when he took his parents’ car and drove to a petrol station where it put €43 of petrol in it but took off without paying on May 14th last year.
The car was later observed by Gardai but McBride again took off despite Gardai activating their blue lights and sirens.
He reached speeds of 120kph in 80kph zones and overtook cars in the village of Kilmacrennan before colliding with a Garda car and another car before being arrested.
The total damage to the cars was €3,500 and McBride was charged with a series of offences including driving wihtout insurane, theft and dangerous driving.
Judge Paul Kelly said he had read the reports into the incident and described it as “shocking.”
He said this was a series of incidents which involved a number of Garda cars which eventually resulted in McBride, of Gortnaskeagh, Kilmacrennan, crashing his parents’ car and causing all this damage.
He said the incident merited a custodial sentence and a hefty driving ban.
However, he said he had to take into account the act that McBride had no previous convictions and that the probation report into McBride was very positive.
He had undertaken the Pro-Social Drivers Course and the court was told that he was respectful and kind to others on the course and that he had impressed the probation services in general.
He now worked within the family business.
Judge Kelly it was because of these factors that McBride was not going to jail.
He sentenced McBride to a total of 120 community service in lieu of a prison sentence fined him €250 and banned him from driving for two years.
And he told the accused “You are very fortunate to be walking out of court.”